Convergence Investment Partners LLC Reduces Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC cut its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,962,000 after buying an additional 1,354,248 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,251,000. abrdn plc boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,107,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,829,000 after purchasing an additional 302,164 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,004,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,278,000 after purchasing an additional 282,667 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 562,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,411,000 after purchasing an additional 251,269 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,110,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,226,730. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.22 and a twelve month high of $118.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.73%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.